The Madhya Pradesh Government has declared a war on wheat supplied by the Food Corporation of India, dismissing it as substandard and unfit for human consumption.Leading the charge was Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan who inspected an FCI godown in the state capital on Monday and announced that his Government would offer the samples of the red wheat to the Union ministers. “Importing the wheat at an exorbitant rate, but paying much less to Indian farmers smacks of a scam,” he said.However, the FCI has contended that the grains were allowed to come to Madhya Pradesh only after joint sampling of stacks, the usual procedure involving officials from the consuming state. FCI sources told The Indian Express on Tuesday that immediately after the Chief Minister displayed the red wheat to the media he was explained the procedure. He was told that quality control certificates were issued only after joint inspection involving Central and state government officials.On Tuesday, the FCI supplied the data of joint inspections to Chouhan naming officials who represented the state Government. FCI claimed that the wheat described as red by the state was imported from cold countries like Russia and Romania. “It’s a variety with different appearance and colour,” an official stated. According to him the imported variety was subjected to quality control checks mid-sea.“We request the Centre not to distribute bad quality wheat. If it continues to supply the inferior imported wheat we will decide our future course of action,” Chouhan said, accusing the UPA Government of giving his state less than its quota. The Corporation’s MP office has informed its head office about the unusual action by the Chief Minister, described as “unauthorised” by Leader of Opposition Jamuna Devi. “On one hand it’s a crime and on the other it’s a political stunt,” she said. She wondered why did the state government had kept mum for the past four years if the wheat was so bad. She accused the BJP Government of not taking steps to help FCI procure the wheat at support price. Meanwhile, Public Health Minister Chaudhary Chandrabhan Singh led a ‘Collectorate march’ in Chhindwara, the constituency of Union Minister Kamal Nath. The protesters later handed over rotis made with the red wheat to the District Collector.
